According to William Dunlap Alfred Agate received his earliest artistic training from his brother, Frederick Stiles Agate, and Thomas Seir Cummings. Under their guidance he began painting miniatures. In 1829 he enrolled in the antique class of the NAD School; in 1831 he began exhibiting his miniatures at the NAD annual exhibitions, and continued to be represented each year through 1839. During most of the 1830s he resided in New York with his brother, but in 1838 he joined the Scientific Corps of the United States Exploring Expedition as a "portrait and botanical artist." This expedition (often referred to as the "Wilkes Expedition" after its organizer, Captain Charles Wilkes) spent the years from 1838 to 1842 exploring and charting the Pacific Ocean. During these years Agate produced a quantity of sketches and paintings recording the flora, fauna, and geology of such areas as the Northwest Territory, New Zealand, and the Antarctic. Upon the expedition's completion Agate settled in Washington and spent the last years of his life preparing his sketches for publication in Wilkes's Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition.
The unusual, and certainly unequivocal, circumstances of Agate's absence from New York and inability to submit works for Academy exhibitions is the likely reason for the alteration in 1840 of his membership status.
JPH
